1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pontoon boats, particularly to small and easily transportable pontoon boats for single-person use, along with a kit for assembling pontoon boats and a method of use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Small pontoon boats or watercraft typically include a pair of pontoon floats that are interconnected to, and support, a deck member. The user or users typically sit or are otherwise positioned on the deck member when the boat is floating on a body of water, such as a stream, river, lake or the like.
In a typical pontoon boat, the pair of pontoon floats are often elongated, buoyant structures that are positioned in a generally fore-to-aft orientation, parallel to one another. The pontoon floats are typically disposed at least partially outboard of the deck member. Such pontoon floats generally provide greater on-water stability than is typically possible in a comparably sized, single-hulled small watercraft.
The relatively high on-water stability of such a pontoon boat design makes it an attractive choice for small transport boats, such as those used for fishing. The disadvantage of such a pontoon boat design, particularly when adopted for small fishing boats and the like, is the difficulty typically encountered in its off-water handling and transport. These handling and transport difficulties are particularly inconvenient with regard to small fishing boats, since the user typically must not only haul the boat out of the water, but also transport the boat to a remote storage site after every use, and then follow the reverse procedure of transporting and launching for the next usage.
Design modifications for improving off-water transportability and ease of storage of small pontoon boats often sacrifice one or more of the one-water stability, integrity and safety features of the basic design. Such trade-offs can lead to dangerous on-water risks, particularly for the user of a single-person fishing boat who does not have access to sophisticated safety equipment or at-hand assistance in emergency situations. It would be desirable to provide a portable, single-person pontoon boat that not only has improved off-water transportability and ease of storage, but also has improved on-water stability, integrity and safety features.
Thus, a portable, single-person pontoon boat, kit and method solving the aforementioned problems is desired.